Regular-season finale going to be emotional for seniors, too

STOCKTON - They arrived on campus when everyone else seemed to be leaving and turned Pacific into a Big West Conference contender within two years.

Jagdip Dhillon

STOCKTON - They arrived on campus when everyone else seemed to be leaving and turned Pacific into a Big West Conference contender within two years.

That's the legacy Pacific's six seniors will leave behind as they prepare for their final regular-season home game against Long Beach State at 4 p.m. today. Lorenzo McCloud, Travis Fulton, Colin Beatty, Rodrigo de Souza and Markus Duran will say their goodbyes at Spanos Center and try to secure the No. 2 seed in next week's Big West Conference Tournament in Anaheim. Pacific (18-12, 12-5) is 8-0 against conference foes at home this season.

The 49ers (18-11, 14-3) have already clinched their third consecutive Big West regular-season championship and will be the No. 1 seed in Anaheim. A Tigers win clinches the No. 2 spot, while a loss combined with Cal Poly winning at home tonight against Cal State Fullerton would drop Pacific to No. 3.

It will also be the final home game of coach Bob Thomason's 25-year tenure at Pacific, so there will be pregame ceremonies to honor the seniors, including walk-on Jordan Turner, and the coach. The five seniors in the rotation have made Thomason's final season a successful one when that didn't seem possible 23 months ago after four players transferred from Pacific to leave two scholarship players on the roster.

"These guys made a great commitment to us when there was only a couple other guys here," Thomason said.

McCloud, Fulton and Beatty were junior college standouts and partially came for the available playing time. All three have been starters since last season and have formed the foundation of this season's contender.

"I just viewed the open roster spots as an opportunity," said Beatty, who's from Lanham, Md., and played at Barton County Community College in Kansas. "I thought I could come in and make a difference right away. It's been a way better year, because that one year of experience and knowing how to finish games off has been the biggest difference in us winning and losing."

Beatty, who has settled into his role as Pacific's best wing defender and occasional scorer this season, overcame shoulder injuries that plagued his first campaign.

McCloud, who transferred from Santa Rosa, has been the engine to Pacific's offense this season, raising his numbers in nearly every category and leading the Tigers in scoring (11.5) and assists (3.9).

"Lorenzo has done a fantastic job," Thomason said. "He's improved his shooting, his decision-making, everything. And as talented as he is, there's still more he can do to impact the game."

McCloud said he's enjoyed his time at Pacific and he's looking forward to an emotional afternoon.

"It's an honor to be a part of Coach T's legacy, and we want to send him out the right way," McCloud said. "It's been a great experience for me and I feel great about being in a winning position this year."

Fulton has been Pacific's second-leading scorer this season with Thomason deploying him in pick-and-pop plays to utilize his shooting skill from the outside. Fulton has averaged 11.4 points a game in Pacific's wins and just 5.6 in their losses.

De Souza and Duran have been spark plugs off the bench the past two seasons, with Thomason saying De Souza, the Brazilian, has "been sensational" this year. Thomason has espoused Turner's team-first virtues for years even as he's played spot minutes the past two seasons.

The soon-to-be-retired coach said he's focused on doing the best job for his team today, but said it would be difficult not to reflect for a few moments.

"Seeing the ex-players will be the hardest for me," Thomason said. "I heard a lot of guys are flying in and that's special and that'll make me emotional. I've learned in the past that these things are always more enjoyable when you win."